Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘word counts’

When is a Book Too Long?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on August 17, 2012| 23 Comments »

The last two books I read were too long. They felt like they went on and on and…. But the question is, what made them too long? I personally don’t like really long books as a general rule. The only time I do is when I’m so involved in the story that I want it to keep going. That’s how I felt when I read 11/22/63. I was so involved with the story and the characters, I felt like I was there. That RARELY happens with most books I read. That doesn’t mean they aren’t good books, they just don’t have what a Stephen King novel has.

The two books I read were too long for different reasons. The first one was too long because it described EVERYTHING. And I mean that literally. I won’t go into too much detail because I don’t want anyone to know the book I’m talking about, but there were times when I had to skim over the details. It was a great story. There was just too much of it. (So Susan, don’t give me too hard of a time about describing food. At least that’s interesting to SOME people. LOL.) But, seriously, this story could have been shorter and would have still been good. I hate it when I’m checking the percentage read on my Kindle constantly to see if I’m almost done with it.

The second story was too long because things kept happening that I didn’t think were necessary. The characters had too much conflict in too many different situations. And the situations were too drawn out. Just when you thought things were coming to a close, something else would happen. And that’s okay for awhile, but it made the book soooo long, much longer than it needed to be.

I do want to mention that both of these books have good reviews. So apparently not everyone feels the way I do. I know a lot of people like long books, but I’m not one of them…unless the book NEEDS to be long to tell the story. I just see too much word padding and scene padding that seems it’s just to make a book longer.

How do you guys feel about this? Have you read books that seemed to go on forever? Do you like long books, short books, or does it depend on how much time you have? I really would love to hear what you think.

Advertisement

Read Full Post »

ROW80 Check In 4/15/12

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on April 15, 2012| 23 Comments »

I think things at work have finally slowed down for me, so I’m not quite as tired every day. I plan to start getting back to more blog reading and commenting this afternoon.

I don’t know how many of you read my post about time vs. word count, so I’ll go over it quickly again here, since many ROW80ers don’t read blogs except for check ins on the linky tools. I’ve found that I need to change from word count goals to time goals. This came about because I sat in front of the computer the other day and couldn’t do anything but write a few words then change them around. I ended up with somewhere between 250-300 words that day instead of my 700+.So I decided I would start making myself sit down for at least 45 minutes a day and write…or at least try. I’m going to sit there no matter what happens. That time will be my writing time. I started that yesterday. I ended up writing for an hour and 15 minutes and wrote 1577 words (yeah, I know I’m not supposed to worry about word count, LOL). I think this method is going to work for me this round. I’ll do my 45 minutes whether I’m on a roll or whether I feel like I’m being imprisoned and tortured. 🙂

So how about the rest of you? Have you had to make any adjustments for this round? How did things go last week?

Read Full Post »

ROW80 Check In 4-4-12

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on April 4, 2012| 8 Comments »

Those of you that have been following and commenting on my blog know by now how much I HATED, DESPISED, ABHORRED trying to outline my new story. I was using Scrivener and the little note cards on the corkboard. I have discovered two things…1)I don’t think Scrivener has anything to offer that I can’t do other ways, and 2) I can’t outline the same way other people do. Or I can’t outline the way I “thought” other people do. I’ve found, by reading blog comments, there are vastly different ways to outline . What works best for me is to have a basic synopsis of my story with some main points, but not necessarily in outline form. The problem is that I’ve always just had this basic “outline” in my head. What I’m going to do is try to be a hybrid pantser/plotter for now and see how it works. That means WRITING DOWN my synopsis (for lack of a better word to use) instead of having the idea roll around in my head. As I get used to doing this, I might be able to plot a little heavier with each project.

All that being said, I’m either 95 words ahead of my 700 word count or 605 words behind. I have a little spreadsheet (I’m all about the spreadsheets) where I keep up with my word counts. I just haven’t decided whether to count the first day, since I was doing nothing but outlining and cursing (not really because I don’t curse) or start my word count on the second day when I really started writing. For now I’m counting the first day because I think I can catch up. 🙂

On the exercise front…I didn’t get up at 5:30 and walk on the treadmill this morning. I just couldn’t. I stayed up too late last night watching Final Destination 2 (for about the 3rd time) and then I had to watch a little of something else to get my mind off FD2 before I went to sleep. So I was up until about 1:00 or later. But I plan on making up for that tonight. And I’m NOT giving up on the morning walks. Also, I’m learning to eat 1/2 to 2/3 (depending on how big the serving is) of my meals and having the rest for another meal. Cheaper in calories and dollars! Oh, and I’ve lost 8 lbs. 🙂

Read Full Post »

ROW80 Check In 11/27/11

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on November 27, 2011| 8 Comments »

Last night I came here into my office to finish the third Libby Fox book. After writing 1193 words, I STILL have another scene left. This is a good thing, though. I was worried about how short it was going to be, but both times I tried to finish it, another scene leading up to the final one made its appearance. So it won’t be quite as short as I feared. After this, I’m done with series. I’m all about the new and shiny thing. I also want to concentrate on novels instead of novellas. More about that in Round One of next year.

Did all of you in the U.S. have a nice Thanksgiving? What did you do? Did any of you outside the U.S. have any kind of holiday? Or at least a good weekend?

Read Full Post »

ROW80 Check In and Book Cover Thoughts

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on July 17, 2011| 24 Comments »

As of last night, I was 1831 words ahead of my cumulative goal. At one point, I was 2331 words ahead, but I opted for lying on the couch instead of writing due to a sore throat and a migraine. I plan on writing a little more than my word count goal tonight.

On another note…it’s very true that book covers can make a difference in book sales. My cover artist and I recently decided to change the cover on my novel, Starfane. This novel is her favorite and my mom’s favorite (it’s definitely the steamiest). It never has sold as well as I hoped, but when we changed the cover recently, sales definitely picked up. When Anya first started doing my covers, I couldn’t afford to pay her, and she didn’t have a good program to work from. Now I can pay her and she has a good design program. This book is about three men (and the heroine), but it also takes place in a magical world which I think the new cover depicts. What do you think about the difference in the covers? The old one looks very amateurist. (Anya thinks the old cover might lead people to believe it’s a male menage a trois, LOL)

Old cover

New Cover

Read Full Post »